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Worst ribs ever on an egg

Just threw away the first ribs I tried on my egg. Disclaimer: fault of the cook not the egg or seasonings.

Tough, dried out and uneatable. I've been reading everything I could on doing baby backs and tried a combination of them. Sorry Wess should have done as you told me. The technique:

Prepared ribs by removing membrane then seasoned with Dizzy Dust and that's the last thing I did right. I did this last evening and wrapped in plastic and stuck in the frig until this afternoon. Then read a posting on the forum that they shouldn't be left for more than an hour or so or they'll get mushy. Oh yeah, I cut slits between the ribs after seeing that on some web site. Hey, get sauce/seasoning on more of the meat. :S Guess it may work in an oven but NOT on an egg.

Cooked for three hours indirect at 225-235
but didn't look like WessB's. Decided not to foil because I read on another site that foiling may contribute to mushiness. Remember these were seasoned about 16 hours before cooking.

Comments

Overfoiling may contribute to mushyness. Skip the slit in between the ribs. For only two or up to three I'd cook them flat about 3 hours then foil about 30 minutes and then let them set ie firm back up for about 30 minutes before saucing. I like the sauce to set on the meat about 10 minutes.

Better luck next time. Everyone cooks a clunker from time to time. Getting ready to put on 6 slabs right now for an auction at church tomorrow.

I do reseason lightly when they are waiting to be cooked that long, which I think is a great method.

I stopped using the V rack and lay flat bone down for the cook.

Time for me at that temp is about 3 to 4 hours. The 'bend' test doesn't seem to ever work for me, but I watch for meat pull back on the bone - about a quarter of an inch is what I look for. Or I till thermopen the meat between the bone. I am looking for temperature as well as tenderness.

Some times I will pull some meat and eat it to see if it is where I like it. I have a hard time knowing when done really is with ribs.

From the looks it seems like they still should have been OK.

Before seasoning I use mustard on the meat. But that doesn't affect the taste.

Sounds to me like you did not cook them long enough. I never foil my ribs and usually cook at 250 for about 5 hours. I sauce them after 4.5 hours. The bend test seems to work for me (pick up the rack with tongs in the middle and if it starts to break then they are done). I would not put slits in the ribs just because I want the juice in the rib not in the drip pan. Be sure that your temp gauge is correct then shoot for 5 hours at 250 and resist the urge to cook for a shorter time. I bet they will be the best you've ever had!

That is a shame, you had some really nice looking ribs. You have gotten good advice. Don't know what other websites you are looking at, but the best advice I can give is. Don't stray to far from this one. A lot of very talented people here.

Kent, you said "I have a hard time knowing when done really is with ribs". For kicks and giggles for some time now besides the bending test I probe the meat with my trusty Thermapen. I read here years ago that the temp between the ribs should be about 196 and guess what? Those meeting that temp are consistently my best!

Remember that the dome temp is 25/30 degrees higher then the grid temp. I usually keep the temp at 450 for the cook. I cook indirect for 5 to 6 hours till the meat shrink back. I agree with RRP that a good temp is 195 to 200 between the ribs. Good luck on your next cook. Tom

They came from BJ's. Three in a pack. I'll have to check tomorrow on the 'enhanced'.

They were very dry which may have come from too long in the seasoning and slits I cut into them. Dizzy Dust lists salt pretty far down the list of ingredients so they may not be drying out too much from the seasoning.

I have another I seasoned, vacuum sealed and froze. Any hope for them? At least I didn't cut the slits.

Don't beat yourself up, we've all tanked on cooks. I would tend to agree with wolf, that they weren't cooked long enough. I've done that more times than I care to admit, but they don't look like they shrunk down the bone enough. -RP

I cooked them for 4 1/2 hours then sauced over another 1/2 about. You're right they didn't pull back much at all. I'll be checking the temps from now on until I get the 'feel'.

I did just check the dome thermometer and it was reading about 10 degrees low.

I have a Redi Check and had the pit probe down the daisy wheel a few inches and it was reading about 300 when the dome was reading 250. Was just using it to monitor for temp changes not cooking temps. Any thoughts? Good, bad, waste of batteries??

10 degrees won't make or break anything, but I usually go five hours on BBs, they are a lot thicker than they used to be. One other possibility is crappy meat, sometimes you do everything right but you just got bad meat. -RP

Going for spares next. Well right after butts. Pulled pork has got to be my favorite and one of major reasons for getting an egg. Going to bake some no-knead bread tomorrow. Switched out the phenolic knob with a stainless steel kitchen drawer pull in order to use a Lodge dutch oven at 500.

Well, it looks like we've covered all the bases on the possible problems. I can't help to think that the 16 hours contributed to the outcome.

Take a looksee at the two baby back recipes in the PORK section on my site. The Car Wash Mike method takes about 5-1/2 hours and does not use foil. It calls for a 250° temp and gets a sauced finish. Very traditional and makes wonderful ribs.

The EZBB ribs only take about 3-1/2 hours of cooking, but at higher temps, plus some resting. This method uses a foil finish and the ribs have a light stickiness to them. They are sauced, if needed, at the table. The time in the foil can be varied to give you the exact tenderness you want.

In short, two very different methods, both produce end results that are very good.